Today’s podcast guest, Lea Popielinski, PhD, shares her journey from academia to an unexpected editing role–with a twist.

Lea earned her PhD in Women’s Studies from Ohio State and began her career in academia by copy editing dissertations for other graduate students. She then transitioned to full-time freelance editing and, through a surprising opportunity, found a job that combines her academic skills with a hobby she discovered in grad school.

In this episode, we cover:

✅ The types of academic editing and how to get started as a freelancer: Learn from Lea’s hands-on experience about breaking into freelance editing, even without formal certification.

✅ Why leaving academia doesn’t mean leaving your skills behind: Hear how Lea leveraged her background in research and copy editing to thrive in a new field.

✅ Overcoming the challenges of freelancing: Lea reveals the practical steps she took to find her place outside academia, including how she developed the skills and confidence to succeed in freelance and full-time roles.

If you’re a PhD considering a career switch, an academic editor, or simply curious about unique editing roles, this conversation will inspire you to open up to new possibilities.

And if you want to start your own freelance journey, check out my free video series on academic editing and coaching: https://AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor

Enjoyed this episode? Please give me a five-star rating and let me know how the show has helped you by leaving a review!

Links mentioned in this episode:

Geeks Who Drink:

https://www.geekswhodrink.com/

https://www.facebook.com/geekswhodrink

https://www.instagram.com/geekswhodrink

Editing Groups:

Academic Editors: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1679310092297801

Editors’ Association of Earth: https://www.facebook.com/groups/442424952497363

Connect with Lea:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lea-popielinski-41a80b57/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I talk with Molly Mullin, PhD, a tenured professor who left academia to move across the country with her family and found joy again in academic editing.

For many scholars, one of the most difficult aspects of academic life is living in a place you don't like or far from your loved ones. Many of us are not prepared for how challenging this can be when we accept our first academic job, and we eventually realize that our personal lives--family, community, cultural or political preferences--contribute far more to giving us a healthy quality of life than academia does (quite the opposite, actually!).

In this episode, Molly explains how she left her tenured position, began work as adjunct faculty after her cross-country move, and started building her editing business on the side. Eventually she realized that she could earn more money as an editor than as faculty, and she decided to make it a full-time business.

Molly's bio:

An "author's editor" with a PhD in cultural anthropology (Duke) and a BA in history (Wellesley College), Molly specializes in working with authors in the humanities and social sciences (including STS and the history of architecture and planning). She provides substantive editing of book chapters, entire book manuscripts, and journal articles. She also works on book and grant proposals and job application letters.

To work with Molly, go to https://www.mollymullin.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-mullin-phd-86b61b79/

To learn how to become an academic editor or coach, go to https://AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I'm talking with Autumn Knowlton, an academic editor and dissertation coach who specializes in filling the gap left by less-than-attentive advisors in their role mentoring graduate students.

Autumn has a PhD in Educational Studies from the University of British Columbia. And she has an interdisciplinary background that made it difficult to find a job that was a good fit when she graduated and went out on the academic job market.

While she was applying to faculty positions, she created a profile on Upwork and used her experience editing colleagues' writing to start a side hustle to carry her through the academic job search.

Little did she know that this would become her dream career and lead to years of success as a dissertation coach and editor.

In this episode, Autumn shares some great advice on finding clients and working with graduate students. This will be helpful for anyone who's thinking about using your existing skills in a new role as an editor or coach.

To learn more about becoming an editor or coach, go to https://acadiaediting.com/becomeaneditor

To work with Autumn, get in touch with her at https://www.autumnrevisions.com/

Follow Autumn on Instagram: @dissertationwhisperer

Connect with Autumn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/autumn-knowlton-revisions/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 8 of my podcast, "Escaping Adjunct Hell and Rekindling Your Passions: An Interview with Ana Hartman," is now available on YouTube and on your favorite podcast app.

In this episode, Ana shares her journey from the precarious position of adjunct faculty to the more flexible and rewarding career of freelance academic editor.

We discuss the challenges she faced as an instructor, the strategies that helped her overcome her anxiety about starting a new business, and how editing has allowed her to rediscover her passion for writing.

Key takeaways from this episode:

- The importance of networking and building relationships: Ana emphasizes the value of connecting with other academic editors and finding a supportive community.

- Leveraging your existing skills: Your academic expertise can be a valuable asset in your editing career. Focus on your strengths and tailor your services accordingly.

- Overcoming fear and self-doubt: Ana shares her personal experience with overcoming anxiety and building confidence as a freelance editor.

Whether you're an adjunct faculty member looking for a change or you're just starting to explore the world of freelance editing and coaching, this episode offers insights and support to help you find your way.

Learn how Ana is turning her academic writing and editing skills into a successful and rewarding business.

And don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and give us a 5-star rating to help spread the word.

#howtoleaveacademia #becomeaneditor #adjunctlife #adjunctfaculty #freelance #academicediting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Blogging Can Attract Clients: Advice for Freelance Academic Editors

In today’s episode, I give some key pointers on how blogging regularly can help improve your SEO (search engine optimization), demonstrate your value to potential clients, and get you noticed... so you have a steady stream of client inquiries–and income–headed your way for years to come.

Questions I answer:

What should academic editors write about in their blog posts?

How can editors increase the visibility of their articles?

How and where should you share your blogs about academic editing on social media?

How you can "get comfortable with being uncomfortable" and market your valuable services to academic clients who need your help.

If you’ve been enjoying this content, please take a moment to give this podcast a 5-star rating. This will satisfy the algorithm goddesses and help me get this information out to more people.

What questions do you have about becoming an editor? I'd love to answer them in a future episode. Email me at [email protected].

#howtoleaveacademia #wfh #academicediting #becomeaneditor #freelancelife #digitalmarketing #marketingforeditors

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In episode 6 of my podcast, Leaving Academia: Becoming a Freelance Editor, one of the members of my first group coaching cohort, Niki Tulk, PhD, PhD, MFA, joins me to discuss the transition from academia to editing.

Niki has such a fabulous sense of humor, so this episode will make you LOL (and there's a guest appearance by her rescue dog, Lily!).

But she also gets to the heart of the problems with academia--and how this affects so many of us emotionally, and even physically.

From day 1 of our cohort, Niki hit the ground running and fully embraced her new life as an academic editor. She immediately was hired by an editing agency and has now edited over 15 documents for them!

Other important points from this interview:

- How your experience as a faculty member or scholar helps you intuitively provide feedback to other scholars as an editor

- What it's like to complete those first freelance editing jobs

- How the framework of the Becoming an Academic Editor course and the personalized feedback eliminate the guesswork and help you stay on track in successfully building this new business

- When you leave academia, you no longer have to squeeze yourself into the restrictive box of other people's expectations--you can be free to float on a cloud of your own design (it makes sense when we talk about it! 😁)

If you've been struggling in academia and you feel like you're alone in these challenges, this is the episode for you.

You are NOT alone, and our community is here to support you--whether you want to start editing/coaching as a side hustle or you're ready to kiss toxic academia goodbye and edit full time. 😘

#howtoleaveacademia #becomeaneditor #theaterprofessor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I discuss the different ways of setting your editing rates and how much you can earn as a freelance academic editor--per hour and in terms of annual income.

Some of the most common questions I get from faculty who are considering editing deal, understandably, with how much money they can earn, whether or not it would be enough to replace their faculty salary, and if there’s enough work out there to make a sustainable living as an editor.

Without being able to make specific predictions about you or your situation, I can confidently say that, YES, I and many other academic editors out there do earn a great living as freelancers, and I consistently have more inquiries for work than I can take on.

To learn more about this freelance life and what I truly consider to be my dream job, go to the link below. That's also where you can grab my Earnings Calculator to help you calculate potential hourly earnings based on your editing experience and speed.

https://AcadiaEditing.com/BecomeAnEditor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Leaving Academia: Becoming a Freelance Editor. Today, we have the incredible Dr. Julia Galindo joining us.

Julia is a former faculty member in the Harvard Writing Program who has helped countless students navigate the challenges of college-level writing. She’s also a trained executive function coach and specializes in helping writers break down overwhelming tasks or break through the blocks that are keeping them from writing. Prior to becoming a coach, she taught the popular course: The Psychology of Success and Failure. In addition to having taught writing, Julia also brings over five years of experience tutoring students at the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Writing Center and her work as an editor on the Harvard Educational Review.

In this episode, we dive into Julia's journey from academia to entrepreneurship. She shares her insights on the burnout she experienced as faculty, the liberating process of leaving academia, and the skills she's leveraged to build a freelance editing business.

We also explore the importance of finding a balance between coaching clients and dedicating time to solo work (good for introverts or HSPs, highly sensitive people, like Julia and me), and Julia's passion for helping students overcome the obstacles they face in their academic pursuits.

So, if you're struggling with burnout in academia, or you’re an aspiring academic editor, I hope this conversation will help show you that you don’t have to stay where you’re unhappy, and you can indeed find joy by applying your academic training as a freelance editor.

------

HELPFUL LINKS:

Julia's website: juliagalindocoaching.com

Elaine Aron's website and books on HSPs: https://hsperson.com/

Thinking of Becoming an Academic Editor? Learn more here: https://acadiaediting.com/becomeaneditor

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Episode 3, “Is freelance editing right for me?”

When you’ve been working as an educator for years and you’ve always pictured yourself as having a secure, salaried position, the thought of freelancing or owning your own business can be daunting. In this episode, I’ll break down what it really means to be a freelance academic editor and offer some tips to help you decide whether or not this path is right for you. We’ll discuss the skills you need to be a strong editor, and some pros and cons of making the shift to freelancing.

If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe to my channel and "like" the episode. This helps me share this information with more people, and I appreciate your feedback.

For more information on how to leave academia and achieve work-life balance as an academic editor, check out the other episodes of this podcast.

LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:

Register for more information on Becoming an Academia Editor--NEW cohort begins SEPTEMBER 25:

https://acadiaediting.com/becomeaneditor

Microsoft Word course "Essential Skills for Academic Editors":

https://acadiaediting.thinkific.com/courses/editingskills

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I discuss what exactly an academic editor is, the different types of editing, and where freelance editors work.

When I was still in academia, I had no idea what a copy editor was or that they worked with scholars to improve their writing and chances of publication. In fact, it wasn’t until I published a book with Routledge and I worked with a freelance copy editor employed by the press that I learned this could even be a career option. If you’re a strong writer–and the type of person who’s considering becoming an editor yourself–then it makes sense for you to be unfamiliar with academic editing–because you’ve never needed to hire an editor!

In a future episode, we’ll discuss working with private clients–the faculty and grad students who hire editors to help them re-work their journal articles, book manuscripts, and even job market materials to help them get published or land a job. But today I’ll give you a broad overview of what I call the “academic editing landscape”: the different types of editing you can do and the companies and organizations that hire academic editors. Many of the terms I’ll use today are commonplace in the professional editing world, but you probably haven’t heard of or used them before, especially if you’re new to editing. Not to worry; I’ve got you covered. Stay tuned for my brief introduction to academic editing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.